Fasting has always existed. Most religions preach it for spiritual cleansing and clarification. Our body even exists either in a fed state or a fasting state.
Intermittent fasting is the controlled abstinence from food. Why do we call it beauty fast? intermittent fasting can help with weight loss for people who are obese.
So you get to lose weight and reduce the tendency to diseases linked with obesity such as Type 2 diabetes, kidney diseases, and so on.
How does this work? When we eat, insulin levels rise to help store excess energy from food that might not be needed immediately.
Carbohydrates are broken down to glucose, stored as glycogen. Excess glucose is then stored as fat which has unlimited storage space in the body, unlike glycogen.
The reverse happens when we do not eat. The stored glycogen and fat gets broken down and made available for use by the body. We are aware that to lose weight, you have to burn more than you consume.
Whether you want to lose weight with diet or exercise, the energy released has to be more than calories consumed. A balance between both in a healthy person only means you are neither gaining nor losing weight.
It is so with intermittent fasting, you spend more time in the fasting state than the fed state.
Intermittent fasting is different from starvation as this is controlled, intentional and healthy if done properly. It is advised for people who have fat to lose which means this is not for you if you are underweight, pregnant or breastfeeding, have eating disorders or are sick.
How do you do this? How long should you fast? No meals will be low-carb plus high-fat diet (keto diet) accompanied with intermittent fasting. This means instead of going for bread or pasta, you can go for vegetables and proteins.
There are different regimens for intermittent fasting.
A common one is 16:8, which means fasting for 16hrs and eating your meals within 8 hours. For instance, you schedule your meals between 8 am to 4 pm. So you get to eat twice or three times a day.
The 5:2 fast. This involves five regular eating days and two fasting days. On the fasting days, you are allowed to eat 500 calories each day.
There are more regimens, Dr Jason Fung, a Canadian nephrologist, an expert on intermittent fasting has meal plans to help with this process and fasting guides as well.
Intermittent fasting is beneficial has it helps with weight loss and body fat burning, it may improve blood cholesterol, reduce obesity, and may reverse type 2 diabetes, is that not beauty itself?
